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The Junior Doctors are due to strike for a total of 20 days between now and the end of the year. It’s been described as unprecedented.

Jeremy Hunt is unmoved by the threats so far and Theresa May has publicly backed Hunt by saying the Junior Doctors have “never had it so good”. It’s been said that their are cracks in the support the Junior Doctors have received from the public due to the belief that they were on the verge of accepting the contract.

This article will make it very clear on the truth and why this is happening.

This is not a strike about Junior Doctors pay packets. In fact the proposed contract had addressed their issues on pay which is in large part why the BMA had previously recommended that the Junior Doctors should accept the contract and here is where much of the confusion arises. The media is focused on the fact, they say, that the BMA had “accepted” the contract. They hadn’t. They had recommend that it be accepted by its members. Over several months the Junior Doctors had been considering it as by and large the best deal being put on the table. Not necessarily a good one.

This is also not a strike about hours worked. The proposed contract addressed this by reducing the hours that staff would be forced to work.

The strikes being proposed centres around one major issue. That of patient safety. The government is proposing a full seven day NHS. Logically that means a full service will require a full compliment of staff working in hospitals and not just that of Junior Doctors. To do that you would need to increase staff numbers otherwise you are simply stretching the existing staff over more hours covering the full weekend working hours. That is clearly not a full seven day NHS. By stretching the existing workforce it can only end in stretched resources, poorer care for patients and ultimately make it even more unsafe because it wouldn’t just stretch the staff levels on a weekend, it would have to stretch staff levels during the week too as Junior Doctors and other staff are stretched across the full seven days.

You may think that the Junior Doctors could just work more hours to cover this but how ironic would that be when the new contracts stipulate a reduction in set working hours. The NHS staff may provide us with life saving care and be some of the most respected workers in the country but that doesn’t make them our slaves. Like any other worker, it’s right that they do not work themselves to the bone. You wouldn’t expect to be treated like that and neither should they expect it. As NHS staff, they deserve our support and respect.

To add insult to injury, recent reports have emerged from the government’s own department of health, released to ministers, highlighting a string of dangers in implementing the plan. The biggest danger drawn up by civil servants was ‘workforce overload’. Meaning “the full service cannot be delivered”. You can read more about this revelation by clicking here.

The Junior Doctors are asking as a minimum for Jeremy Hunt to suspended the imposition of the contracts (forced contracts) and to continue talks behind the scenes only for the contracts to be initiated when the contracts are finally agreed by all parties. You would think this is a logical step. So why is Jeremy Hunt refusing to budge on this issue?

Quite simply Jeremy Hunt has no plan to properly fund or staff the NHS. He did propose a requested £10Billion for the service bur in truth that was a stop gap to stop the NHS collapsing under its own weight there and then and it doesnt address the staffing levels. The reality is, right now, a full seven day NHS is unachievable. With no extra money or staffing levels being implemented what possible solution can he offer that would address this major concern for public safety? As he has no answer to it, he wants to go ahead with it regardless, but why?

It is true to say that an underfunded and understaffed NHS, especially one that is operating at capacity, ie: seven days, would mean that it would be much easier for a Conservative government to suggest and explore more than ever before the idea of privatisation. It’s been suggested by many people including Jeremy Corbyn for many years and more recently Owen Smith, who oddly acted like it was breaking news. It’s been suspected and known for some time. You only have to look at what’s happening with Virgin Health Care to realise that privatisation is already happening under our noses.

It’s no great leap of imagination to realise that ideally the Conservatives would love to implement much more wide reaching privatisation deals. That though would be race to the bottom for the tax payer in health care and in many cases are far more reaching postcode lottery and a wider split between the have’s and have not’s. That would be a disaster for the much loved NHS and the idea of free health care for all.

Privatisation is at the heart of this and it is for that reason that everyone who loves the NHS and the protection it provides loved ones free at the point of use must defend the Junior Doctors in this battle with the Government. This is not about greedy Doctors. This is about unscrupulous and underhand deals behind the scenes within the government and we must defend it together.

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The doctors I am sure will not allow the most sick patients to go untreated. I have every confidence that the most needy will still get the care they deserve during the strikes. Anyone waiting for minor appointments will be seen, but the delay in that operation may just save the NHS that you rely on to get that operation done for free.

NHS Junior Doctors will strike for five straight days from Monday 12th until Friday 16th September with a “full withdrawal of labour”

Jeremy Hunt called it “Devastating news for patients”. Hunt also asked the BMA why they had accepted and endorsed the contract in light of this development.
Jeremy Hunt forgets that the BMA had said they would only consider the contract and as expected the Junior Doctors have once again rejected the contract.

We fully support the Junior Doctors for two reasons, one being that a move to a full NHS service requires a significant increase in staffing levels to ensure it truly is a seven day service and current staff are not stretched. There is no huge increase in staff numbers expected and considering Hunt has promised a reduction in working hours it seems an impossible situation to force on Junior Doctors and patients. In any case, a recent government report has stated that the plans are unworkable.

Secondly, if the workers of this country can be told that they must sign and change contracts against their will or face a possible job loss then it would mean all workers can simply rip up their contracts as worthless. They are standing up for your working rights.

Back the Junior Doctors. Protect their rights, protect yours.

(On another note does anyone know how Hunt retained his job?)

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When the Government decided that too many people were putting a strain on the NHS and Insurance premiums by not wearing seat belts in cars what did they do? They made it socially unacceptable. To not wear a seat belt was putting other people at risk and putting a strain on the NHS, sure there was the “and it may save your life” element too but ultimately if you want to take your own chances in life that’s up to you as an individual surely. No, it was never about your own safety. This was divide and conquer. Shame those that don’t buckle up and the rest will follow and most people now do follow.

(This advert on seatbelt safety went viral in 2010 and shows how a campaign can and should work)

When the Government realised that smoking was bad (indeed it is) for our health and was costing the NHS billions every year they again turned to divide and conquer. Shame the smokers, shove them into the cold and the rest will follow. Slowly but surely the rest are following.

There are other examples but these are perhaps two of the most stark cases.

Today there is a new focus on that same divide and conquer strategy. Being fat. If you’re overweight then you are a strain on the NHS, costing billions every year and it’s something that needs to be stopped. So says the Government. Given enough time the people will follow. This strategy has been in the works for several years now and each year the pressure builds up.

I have seen people medically described as obese and yet in reality they are just overweight. The term ‘obese’ medically has its roots in your BMI levels and a pre-defined level of acceptability as set by the medical industry but the reality is when the word obese is used we all have an image of a 30 stone man being hoisted by crane out of a house and that image is enough to bring anyone’s ego crashing down to the floor. That sense of worthlessness and the public perception of being fat is what will bring about the changes needed by the NHS to stop the high level spend on fat related illnesses.

The thing is, there are health risks to being larger than you need to be. No doubt about that. It’s the tactics of divide and conquer that are the problem.

Unlike smoking or seat belts where ‘things’ are the issue, with being overweight it’s the person that is the issue and there is no quick fix. Click a seat belt in… done. Don’t pick up that cigarette.. done. Stop being fat … doesn’t really work does it?

We all know that the media industry is at the forefront of image control and has been for a very long time. It still amazes me to this day how we have let the music industry get away with so much discrimination. If it was any other institution we would be in uproar but hey, the media industry entertains us so who are we to moan, right?

From child sexploitation to sexist attitudes, from drug addled artists to promoting killing within songs. It’s all there on full display yet no one bats an eyelid. All available for our kids to digest. Of course within all this is image. Too fat and you likely won’t make it big, certainly not in mainstream music. A notable exception is the singer Adele. She is hardly ‘fat’ but it’s something that has been spoken about in the gutter press and it’s clear to see… she is no stick insect. Yet she is however attractive and has huge popularity for her singing talent. She is judged on her ability primarily and that’s always the way it should be. How many times on reality shows have we seen larger men and women dropped clearly because of how they look often because of their size? That is the exception though and it needs to become the norm.

We see time and again artists that lose the plot yet are kept on by their management because..money. Pete Doherty’s drug antics, Amy Winehouse’s drink and drugs issue which ultimately led to her death, Britney Spears’ mental break down more recently the explicit sexualisaton of a young Miley Cyrus and the obvious downward slope she is taking. (Incidentally she is a good singer, but you wouldn’t really know it).

It’s nothing new, Rock and Metal have had its societal issues before pop and R&B did and before that Rock & Roll was seen as the devil’s work but image as such was never an issue like it is today especially with the advent of social media and the easy access teens have to it.

All of the above is by and large seem by a teen-heavy market and that can only influence the next generation and the ones after that. It’s inevitable and we ignore it to our detriment.

This all brings me on to the latest piece to hit the press. Singer and one part of ‘Little Mix’ Jesy Nelson ‘broke down’ on stage a few nights ago (video below) mid concert as she spoke of her weight. Since then Little Mix have cancelled two gigs in Belfast due to an illness Nelson has picked up (at least allegedly). What followed on social network Twitter was heartless. So-called fans began to lay into the singer calling her fat and pushing her to kill herself. (As explained in this article) She will unlikely see these messages directly but just stop and think for a moment. Here is a young girl whisked into the limelight not that long ago via a reality music TV show, already previously mocked for her looks, already having concerns for her weight is this something that is fair.. to publicly mock her weight because a gig was cancelled?

Nelson looking gorgeous and far from 'fat'

There will always be idiots and teens who think they know everything there is to know. You can’t account for young stupidity it’s part of growing up but what isn’t part of growing up is being exposed to the type of attitudes that are best left to the adult sphere (ironic considering we are meant to be the grown up ones).

What can we do about attitudes though, specifically about attitudes towards weight, when our own government persists in labelling fat people a problem and continues to shame people who are less than the ‘ideal’ weight?

Every health drive including the recent sugar tax implementation in the UK is largely aimed at obesity or related illnesses and with each passing comment about obesity or being fat, is one more day that someone less than ‘perfect’ is contemplating their own place in the world.

With smokers ostracised, seatbeltless drivers vilified and now overweight people shamed, who might be next in line to tackle the NHS budget? One day perfectly normal. The next you’ll be hounded into believing that you are the problem.

There is a difference between targeting a problem that affects people – and making such a noise about it that it sidelines a whole section of the community. What world is it when the first response to not getting what you want is to attack someones weight?

There has always been name calling as children but it shows the lack of progress we have made when our kids are still trotting out the same rubbish as we might have done when we were their age.

If you have been classed as fat, sod them. Stick two fingers up. Change your weight if you want to but if you’re happy, just be YOU. We will all die at some point, everyone from something different. It should not be about how long you live but instead about the quality of the life you lead. So make the most of it, you only get one shot at this, stop worrying about the small things.

It’s down to us to change attitudes and down to our government to set the example.

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Nothing can be more assuring than seeing our wonderful leader, David Cameron, at last weekends conference in Manchester proudly standing with chest puffed out and a smile wider than Cyril Smith’s waistline.

Nothing could be better than hearing how the Conservatives over this term of parliament will tackle immigration, housing, social deprivation, social cohesion, abject poverty, industry, the economy and deliver on the promise of an EU referendum.

The Conservatives have done a fantastic job over the last 5 years and with Labour reeling in dissaray over the mandate given to a man who hates Britain, hates it’s values and would rather be friends with terrorists is it any wonder that we will experience the pleasure of a Conservative government for at least the next decade.

Let’s walk hand in hand over the policies and issues that the Conservatives will be tackling over the next few years and what benefits and possible pitfalls may arise.

Immigration

When the conservatives swept to power in 2010 David Cameron promised the electorate that they would cut immigration by “Tens of Thousands” to below the 100,000 mark.

Net Migration has actually risen under the Conservatives and as such they have not achieved their target after 5 years in power. So Theresa May at the conference set out a new plan to tackle immigration. This time the promise is to reduce immigration by tens of thousands again but with the promise this time of tackling the problems that mass immigration brings which as May says is that immigration “harms Social cohesion”

Labour have not set out their policy yet on immigration but it is known that immigration has had a financial net contribution to the country as workers come here to work in places such as the NHS, earn and pay taxes. Jeremy Corbyn is known to support immigration that benefits the country and is a major supporter of social cohesion and as such is likely to develop any future policy around this.

Back in 2010, David Cameron pledged to reduce net migration into Britain to below 100,000 – “no ifs, no buts”.

The Conservatives in 2010 promised to deliver 250,000 homes every year to meet the housing needs of Britain as it faces a housing crisis but have fallen well short of that target.

In line with that policy, Housing Charity ‘Shelter’ said 250,000 new homes were required every year but the figures via the Department of Communities and Local Government are self evident (It’s worth reminding you at this point that the Conservatives have been in power since 2010) saying ‘A total of 137,000 homes were started in 2014, a rise of 10% on the previous year’ and up 36% on 2012 as reported by the BBC, which also reported that the figures now were ‘still 25% below the peak reached in 2007’. (Under Labour)

So whilst the Conservatives have failed to deliver on this promise they have assured us that 200,000 homes will be made available to first time buyers at a 20% discount which is great news although as Labour have pointed out the cost of the homes will still be unattainable by most people especially families with children and single people and mainly only benefitting working couples without children.

Labour have promised 200,000 new homes by 2020 and at the moment have not laid out their strategy or full housing policy but Jeremy Corbyn is resolute in his determination to eradicate homelessness saying that ‘no one should be homesless in a modern society’

“Fortune favours the brave”

– Earliest recorded use by Terence (Ancient Roman Playwrite)

Cameron has been brave in the lies and deceit and the only thing saving him is a levelling economy, that though in spite of him, not because of him.

Tax Credit Cuts & The Welfare State

The conservatives have shaken up the welfare system. £12 Billion has been taken from the most vulnerable in society and will be made available to the NHS where a large amount will be used to pay for treatment towards some of the most vulnerable in society.

Tax Credits of course is being cut where families with more than 2 children will suffer, that’s according to official figures where they say 3 million people will be affected and that includes working people.

Iain Duncan Smith has said in his conference speech last weekend that amongst cuts they will look at the root causes of poverty such as educational attainment in families.

On top of that Priti Patel has said that as well at Tax cuts they hope that with this it will force people to want to get into work and give them aspiration by working longer and harder which in turn will give their incomes a boost and lift them out of poverty. Have a think about that for a moment before reading on.

With both the comments from IDS and Patel you can envisage the Conservatives trying to form a society where only the hard working and the intelligent can get on in society. What that will do for people unable to find work or unable to work longer hours or people that didn’t make a good educational start in life can only be guessed at.

This kind of elitist thinking reminds us of another political leader in history that wanted a certain type of society at the expense of people not like them, I can’t recall his name now so will update when we remember.

This of course doesn’t even begin to touch on the increase in suicides of people being told to return to work despite them not being able to which IDS refused to hand over the report on.

Whilst it looks bad it can only be a good thing if we as a nation are to save some cash. Even if only around 3% of the entire welfare bill is spent on out-of-work benefits.

Yes it will hurt working people but the Conservatives are, they say, the party of the working people so I guess it balances out.

Labour has no policy on this as yet but Labour will ensure that less people commit suicide, the most vulnerable are not left without a safety work and that working people get the support they need to ensure they don’t go under.

NHS

The NHS will be saved by the Conservatives by an injection of £8Billion paid for by the poorest people in Britain.

It will also be saved by pay cuts to junior doctors which is forcing people out of the profession which may in turn create a major NHS crisis but that is something the Conservatives will deal with as and when it happens.

They could employ foreign doctors but due to their efforts to cut immigration this may prove problematic.

No word from the Tories if they still intend to privatise parts of the NHS.

Labour, who created the NHS, intend to keep it free at the point of use.

War in Syria & International Relations

David Cameron has promised to help save the Syrian people by launching Bombing runs on their country. He failed in the last parliament to pass a motion in Parliament but he intends to try again as soon as he can convince others to change their minds.

Despite his military allies the U.S. Spending a year in Syria to tackle ISIS and seeing no progress has been made he must be convinced that a few more RAF jets will do the trick. The Refugee crisis mainly began after the U.S. arrived in Syria and Cameron maybe hoping that dropping some Bombs around the edges of syria will force people back into the country rather than invade England.

Despite Russia making considerable progress against ISIS in less than two weeks Cameron is also convinced that Russia are part of the problem, even if Russia are there by invite of the Syrian President and the U.S are there illegally under international law.

Russia, Cameron says, is a threat to national security much in the same way Jeremy Corbyn is. (That will be none then, but let’s not let facts get in the way). Despite Russia not taking part in any wars or international action outside the Eastern bloc for many many years, Cameron rightly believes that the Russians are still coming even to this very day.

Cameron admits along with the U.S. that the moderate terrorists in Syria have been funded by the West but only so they can target Assad who Britain doesn’t like very much. Despite Russia, ISIS and other terror groups being national security threats, Cameron would sooner see Assad gone despite him being no threat to national security.

David Cameron has also formed a close alliance to Saudi Arabia who regrettably has one of the worlds worst human rights records but that is not so much of an issue because Cameron has made a deal with them that If Britain voted for Saudi Arabia to get a place on the human rights council then Saudi Arabia would in turn vote for the UK next time. The reason for that deal was because in Cameron’s words “they provide us with important security information that protects the country” Saudi Arabia the human rights abuser is also helping NATO in Syria to defeat Assad, an alleged human rights abuser.

Cameron continues his push towards Syria in the knowledge that Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya were a major success in dealing with the stability of those nations even if ISIS, the worlds worst terror organisation, arose from those interventions. Cameron also has a proud record of executing or helping to execute world leaders such as Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Gaddafi of Libya. Even if they had kept the entire region stable by their very presence. Cameron hopes to achieve the same results by invading Syria.

Jeremy Corbyn and Labour have not set out their policies but Jeremy Corbyn is known to not want to send our brave soldiers into a combat zone where they don’t need to risk their lives needlessly.

Environment

David Cameron doesn’t appear to have any environment policies of any real note which means he can’t be attacked on his environment policies which is great news.

Jeremy Corbyn wishes to protect the environment at all costs to preserve planet earth for future generations.

On Jeremy Corbyn & Patrotism

DavidCameronaccused Jeremy Corbyn of being anti British and a danger to national security.

Quite right. Corbyn has demanded peace for too long. The only way we will protect British people and their values is by bombing the Middle East even if that means creating power vaccumes in those countries which creates terror groups intent on wiping out the British people.

Britain has been built on freedom and democracy and no one says that better than Cameron. Even if he criticises Corbyn for having the freedom to make his own choices about how he deals with the Royal Family.

Corbyn may want to express his own opinion but in politics you must do as you’re told. You must follow tradition and you must do as the current government says, even if that means sacrificing your own standards and beliefs because in some instances those freedoms don’t extend to everyone.

Of course the best way to be Patriotic is to do what Cameron does, ignore the people who are your enemies. Don’t engage with them, do not try to come to a consensus because to come to a diplomatic solution is just wrong. Bombs have to be involved somewhere along the lines.

The wrong way to be Patriotic is to do what Britain did with The IRA and go to the negotiating table which is exactly what Jeremy Corbyn wants to do with Hezbollah.

So, you can clearly see here who is more unpatriotic and who hates Britons more.

Jeremy Corbyn – A breath of fresh air in politics
As a final note just to say that we got our headline wrong, it should read;
“Why should you vote conservative in 2020?”

“..Andrew Collier, co-chair of the UK Junior Doctors Committee, said. ‘We will resist a contract that is bad for patients, bad for junior doctors and bad for the NHS.’..”

Department of Health contract means doctors could work in excess of 13 hour days, more weekends and nights, the contract will also mean a junior doctor would only be entitled to a 20 minute break every six hours AND all for 30-40% pay cut.

Would you accept those conditions?

The government is targeting everyone to work longer for less in relation to work and to pension age, targeting the poor to pay for the rich and all the whilst failing to reduce the deficit and failing on the housing crisis.